Prompt #5 Chanel Lambert

Winter quarter was somewhat of a blur between the stress and frustration of my math and chemistry classes; I am definitely not used to moving through subjects this quickly. However, I did enjoy this course because of its interesting topic and modern viewpoints. Gender and
Sexuality in Cartoons was definitely not in my understanding of your typical English
class as I came from a Catholic high school which thrived on its boring focus
of scripture and ancient writings. I found this course to be relevant and I am
grateful to discuss a controversial topic that wasn't really significant in my high school. I judge people every day which is influenced by bias and stereotypes. The concept of the way we judge
people was broken down and analyzed in a way that made it understandable.
The majority of the class was focused on analysis and in-depth focus. I loved watching all of the Disney clips even though Gaston’s song is engraved in my brain forever. I really appreciated
the way we broke down our ideas and formed outlines based on the clips. This
helped me add structure to my writing and organize my thoughts in a logical way
without being too formulaic making my papers boring and predictable to read. I
also appreciated the amount of time we devoted to improving the way we think
about thesis statements. Thesis statements are the key to any good paper and I had
always struggled in writing them. This class really improved my approach to
analytical writing and the way I structure my papers.
Lastly I liked how modern the course was; I am used to generic English courses focused on classic authors that paved the way for our modern views. We kept our topics relevant. It also
helped that Tory was a younger teacher who made modern references and kept
things funny and upbeat. i also liked the blog which was a way for everyone in the class to connect and share ideas. I only have to take two English courses here at Ohio
State and I am glad that I took this one!

Prompt #5-Connor Cross

Freshman Composition has been very helpful to me and has made me an overall better writer. The part of the class that helped me the most was the class where we went over how to improve thesis statements. The thesis statement is the most important part of a paper, and the lesson showed me how to make them more specific and better spoken. I thought it was really cool how I could email my teacher my thesis statement and he could send me back his thoughts on it before I actually put it in my paper. I also liked how Tory didn’t make the class really boring because on the first day of class I thought it was going to be the slowest class of the year, but it turned out to be alright.

The secondary source analysis assignment we did also helped teach me how to better incorporate sources into my papers, and how to use them to get a point across. I know that if I can write an 8-page essay on sexuality that appears in a Disney movie then I can write about anything. The feedback we received on all of our writing from our peers and teacher was also very beneficial to becoming a better writer. Another assignment that was helpful to me was the commonplace essay, which helped me improve on writing from a biased perspective. I actually enjoyed writing that paper because we could pick whatever topic we wanted. I also thought the commonplace essay was interesting because you were able to read other essays written by your peers and compare them with your own. I had also never written a memo about someone else’s paper before this class, and I actually had fun writing a whole letter telling the author what they need to improve on. Overall, I’m happy with this class and I’m glad I took it.

Blog Post #4 : Casey Reinard

As is probably true for most college-aged people these days, the majority of what I read is found on the internet. Whether it is Yahoo articles or Facebook notes and status updates, it is often difficult to find something to read that is not an enormous waste of time, while at the same time, is truly interesting and engaging to me.

With that said, I still thoroughly enjoy reading the notes and status updates of my close friends on Facebook, even though this usually leads to my watching videos of Ultimate Frisbee trick shots or the things to watch for in the coming NFL season. The majority of the friends I graduated from high school with either live on campus here at OSU, or go to school in Cincinnati, Dayton, Athens, or Michigan, and so I am not able to see them very often. This is when I turn to Facebook for a little bit of help. To put it plainly, I really like to know what my friends are up to. Its not that I'm worried about their being safe, or my being replaced, rather that I simply enjoy knowing what others are doing. Because of Facebook, I am easily able to talk to those friends who aren't around anymore, who moved away when I was a little kid, or who I've lost touch with, even if they don't live very far away. I am able to look at pictures from when we were the best of friends, as well as from the previous night when they went to the premier of Harry Potter, for example, and dressed up like all of the characters in the movie.

 In a way, Facebook allows me to see how each one of my friends, as well as myself, has grown over the past few years, and to see the people they are turning into. That is why Facebook is a "piece of public writing" that is significant to me. 

Pei Chien WU

Except news, most of the public writing I read are about design. I subscribe numerous design websites and the new posts or designs will be mailed directly into my mailbox whenever they update, therefore, I check my mailbox frequently and always look forward to receiving the emails from the website.

One of my favorite design website is core 77, which basically contain everything about design, such as, articles, forums, books, award... and so on. I usually read design articles and my favorite are product and furniture design. The texts on core 77 are always about the ideas and inspirations of the products and how they function. Depends on the topic and the the product, they will lead into different kinds of text both formal and informal. I can spend all day browsing on core 77. There are always something interesting and new await. There are always text with photographs which helps the reader to understand the product more. Sometimes I get bored by reading pages and pages of words. I enjoy reading when it comes with photographs.

The other website I visit a lot recently is http://artofdanny.com/page/3. It is a personal blog of a graphic designer. I knew him from a random website and totally fall in love with his humor of design. He didn't write much about his design, however, he would sometimes share where his inspiration came from and explain a little bit. I like the way he randomly share about himself and his ideas. They are relaxing and easy to read.

If someone also enjoy reading design articles. highly recommend starting from personal blogs. It is always interesting to know other people's point of view to an object and you will find yourself falling in love with it pretty soon!

Molly Hopkins: Prompt #4

One of my favorite books that I have ever read is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon. I read this my junior year of high school and it still is one of my favorites. This book is about a young boy who has autism and the challenges he faces on a daily basis as well as in his relationships. Because of his autism, he is slightly OCD about many things in his life. He has a routine that he must follow and can be a very irritable child when this routine is broken or thrown off in any way. He is also incredibly good at math, like many children with autism, and there are many interesting math problems throughout the story.

The major conflict in the story is when the boy, Christopher’s parents separate because his mother runs off with their neighbor. Because of Christopher’s autism, he has trouble processing exactly what is going on and his parents are not really honest about what is happening either, in hopes of protecting him. The main plot revolves around how Christopher does not deal with this change in his routine well at all and runs away to try and find his mother because she just abandoned him.

The author of this book writes in first person, from the point of view of Christopher, so that readers can really get to know how someone with autism thinks. The author does a great job at making a very serious topic and situation lighter by adding in a lot of humor. I have cousin who has autism who is about the age of the boy in the book, and I have always been annoyed with his irritability, however, after reading this story, I have become much more tolerant of my cousin. Also after reading this book I became extremely interested in autism, especially children with autism and I hope to be able to work at a camp for children with autism at home this summer. This book is one of the few books that I have ever read that really made me think about my life and has effected me is some way. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a quick, funny, and inspiring read.

Andrew Katz Blog #4

Reading is one of my favorite things to do when I find myself with free time. I love fiction specifically, as I feel it makes me think outside the box and generally develops skills I can use in the real world. One very impactful book I recently read is called “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” by the late Stieg Larsson. At first, I was very skeptical. I heard great reviews about the new movie adaptation, so I went and checked it out. I found my self thoroughly entertained and quite surprised as well, as the story telling was captivating and thought provoking. I was so intrigued I went home and got the book the next day. The first 150 pages were excruciatingly slow and unexciting, however the build up during the middle and the climax were unrivaled by almost any other book I’ve ever read (besides “The Da Vinci Code,” of course).

The way that Stieg developed his characters and set them up with difficult tasks and awkward positions was very fun to read. I found that I was unable to put the book down once I got into the thick of it, and those are the best sorts of books to read. The book is a mystery, and generally one likes to run through the list of possible solutions while reading. However it’s almost impossible to predict the finale of this intricate tale, no matter how certain one may be. And I love that about books. If there’s one thing I cannot stand, it’s a predictable book because that just tells me that this author is pretty uncreative or didn’t really put in the necessary work to entertain the audience. Stieg Larsson went above and beyond expectations in this haunting murder mystery, and the book itself encourages me to think outside the box in my daily life.

Jimmy McGuire-Prompt #4

My example of public writing is probably a very cliche one, in that my favorite book series is the Harry Potter series. These books are what originally made me interested in reading in general, because before I was introduced to them I actually despised reading. When I was in fourth grade, my class started reading the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and from there I was hooked. I actually ended up reading ahead of the class, and by the time they were done reading the first book, I was already done with the second book.

The books contain so much appealing content that it is hard to express in words why I liked them so much. I assume what made Harry Potter so appealing was the vast amount of imagination intertwined in the author's world (J.K. Rowling). She imagined a world that was so unique and so appealing to the reader's imagination that I just could not put the books down. If you are unaware of what Harry Potter is about (and I find that hard to believe given the amount of popularity it has in both the books and movies), simply put it is a world of magic. Wizards and witches and many other magical creatures of fiction inhabit the world, and Harry is a wizard who is learning his art in a magical school. He is also the main protagonist in fighting the evil wizard Voldemort.

The movie interpretations are decent, and they have made a ton of money, but they just do not have the same luster that the books have. There is a lack of detail and a lack of the reader's own imagination in the movies. That's where the books really succeed for me; The world is so intriguing and so different from anything else, and it makes you wish you were apart of that world.

Needless to say, I have read all seven of the books, and they got better with each successive title. I often re-read them during summers when I have more free time, and it always takes me back to my childhood when I first experienced the magic of Harry Potter, no pun intended. The only thing that I wish is that J.K. Rowling would continue to publish more books, but sadly the saga is complete.